


Clockwork

by theobserver



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Angst, Depression, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Gen, I'm Bad At Summaries, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-19 09:00:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3604242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theobserver/pseuds/theobserver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now that the war is over, the Matheson's and Monroe's have settled back in Willoughby. Charlie and Bass started something, and now, Charlie wants more. This is their story.<br/>I'm sorry, I suck at summaries. This story is based on the song "Clockwork" by Easton Corbin. If you haven't heard it, it's awesome! Also, this is the first thing I have ever published or let anyone else read so I'm really nervous and would appreciate ANY feedback you'll give :).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1- My Hardest Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> So first off, just want to let you guys know that the scenes in italics are flashbacks/memories. As I said in the summary, this is the first thing I have EVER posted or let anyone read so reviews would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thank y'all in advance! <3

Charlie let out a sigh as she stood in the doorway to the little 2 bedroom house she’d purchased near the Willoughby town square almost 2 years ago after the war against the Patriots ended. She was going to miss this place. It was the only place that had felt like home since she’d left Sylvania Estates. But she couldn't make herself stay any longer.

She had had enough and she was tired.

Tired of feeling alone, tired of always coming in second to EVERYONE in her life, and most importantly, she was tired of her love not being good enough, of HER not being enough.

Charlie laid the letters she had written on her kitchen table, knowing they’d be found when someone came looking for her. She fought back the tears as she shut the front door and headed down a back road towards a section of the town fence that isn't guarded. As she walked, Charlie’s thoughts drifted to how life had been after the war. Although she’d had many job offers, she had been adamant about wanting to stay near her family. Unsurprisingly, Rachel had wanted to stay in Willoughby, near her dad. And naturally, Miles wanted to be with Rachel. They’d been more open about their relationship since Charlie and Miles’ talk in the Ranger’s camp outside of Austin.

All of the battles had also served as a turning point for Miles and Monroe’s friendship. Their relationship was almost back to how things used to be, much to Rachel’s chagrin. As for Charlie, her relationship with her mother was about the same. Sure, they were civil but there was no mother/daughter bonding happening anytime soon. Charlie and Miles still got along amazingly, at least they did when they had time to see each other. But probably the most surprising and radical change had been the relationship between her and Monroe.

By the time the Patriot war had ended, they had become extremely good friends. They’d fought beside each other and had each other’s backs too many times to count. He’d been there for her after many difficult undercover assignments and she’d been there for him when the pressure to shut himself off got to be too much. But the biggest change of all had come when they had been back in Willoughby for about 5 months. She closed her eyes as she thought back to that day.

_It was Friday night. Charlie, Miles and Bass were at the bar drinking and reminiscing about their battle days. They were well into their second bottle of whiskey when Rachel came waltzing into the bar and told Miles that he needed to come home. Bass and Charlie looked at each other and rolled their eyes as Miles stood up, wrapped his arm around Rachel’s shoulders and waved goodnight to his drinking buddies. The other two called it a night shortly afterwards._

_Bass and Charlie stumbled down Main Street, arms around one another, laughing at each other’s attempts to walk straight. Bass helped Charlie up her front steps and reached around her to open her door when she turned around to tell him goodnight. Charlie gasped when she realized how close they were. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Bass placed a timid hand on her face and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Charlie closed her eyes and leaned into his touch._

_Next thing she knew, they were locked in a kiss, fighting for dominance. Bass backed Charlie into her house and kicked the door shut. She found herself pressed up against the wall. Feeling the hot, hungry mouth on hers, she tried to remember another time she had been so turned on. His tongue aggressively darted into her mouth as Charlie’s did the same. She clenched his shirt in one hand and ran her other hand over the flat, hard muscles of his chest and arms. Bass’ breathing was ragged as his hands roamed over the tight fitting jeans Charlie had worn to the bar, and, for a moment, he squeezed her ass so hard it hurt. Charlie whimpered into his mouth and he pulled back for a second, giving them both a chance to breathe._

_“Sorry,” he murmured, trying to calm himself down as his eyes ran over her figure, drinking in the sight of the beautiful woman in front of him._

_“It’s okay,” Charlie responded through lusty half-lidded eyes._

_His hands busied themselves with removing the thin, tight, electric blue tank top she’d worn to the bar and she raised her arms to help, glad to be rid of it._

_Throwing the thin fabric in a careless pile somewhere off to the side, Bass’ eyes widened at the sexy red laced bra Charlie had found last week that contrasted beautifully with her toned, tanned figure. “Wow!” he exclaimed, stunned for a moment, busily running his eyes over her pert, lace covered breasts. His hands rested on her hips and Charlie arched her back accordingly, more pleased with the obvious approval than she cared to admit._

_Charlie felt his strong hand gently cup and squeeze her breast through the material as his mouth nibbled at the side of her neck, and she felt a warm, shuddering throb run through her body. She made a sound in the back of her throat as his lips traveled down her cleavage and over the tips of her breasts. His hand roughly pulled the lacy material down and she felt lips, teeth and tongue teasing her hard nipples._

_Charlie leaned her head back and spent a long moment savoring the sensations. Her head swam slightly with alcohol, though she was far from drunk. Tangling her fingers into his blonde curls, Charlie raised the mouth sucking and nuzzling her breasts back up and their eager lips and tongues met once more. She ran her palm over the hard length straining towards her through his pants. Still pinned to the wall, Charlie found herself clumsily trying to undo his belt and unbutton his pants. Their passionate kissing slowly ground to a halt as the effort consumed more and more of her attention._

_Finally, Charlie succeeded. Bass and Charlie looked each other in the eye and were both silent for a long moment. She found herself beginning to blush as Bass gently laughed before undoing her bra in a quick, practiced motion. “Oh, God, that was embarrassing,” Charlie groaned, suddenly self-conscious about her earlier fumbling._

_“It was adorable. Don’t worry about it,” Bass reassured before kissing her gently once again. As the kiss intensified, Charlie slowly slipped her hand under his waistband and traced over the hard, throbbing member pointing towards her. She watched the expression on Bass’ face change as she traced her fingers around the erect tip. His attention was drawn inwards as he focused on her touch. Charlie wrapped her fingers around his erection and pulled gently. She couldn’t help but notice how his hips followed her subtle direction. His breathing turned shallow and his eyes closed with a moan._

_She broke the spell he was under as she pulled him towards her. Hungrily, and with a renewed purpose, Bass lowered his mouth over her naked breasts while deftly undoing her tight jeans, roughly pulling them down her long, tan, toned legs. Bass let out a groan when he realized that she was bare beneath her jeans. He glanced up at Charlie and saw her smirking at him. “You’re killing me here,” he rasped, before his hungry, attentive mouth began to nip and kiss down her body. He blue eyes clenched shut as Bass finally ran his mouth and the tip of his tongue over her sensitive and glistening lips. Raw pleasure coursed through her as his fingers brushed against her wetness. Charlie’s chest was heaving, her skin flushed and her legs were trembling as she struggled to support herself against the wall._

_Her fingers were once again tangled in his curls, pulling him tighter against her causing him to let out a rumble of laughter. Charlie gasped harshly as Bass gently sucked her wet, swollen clit into his mouth and gently running the flat of his tongue along it. She felt the rush of a fastly building orgasm surging inside her and her legs wobbled so hard that she almost fell to the floor._

_“You okay?” Bass asked, stopping for a moment and smiling._

_“Yeah,” she said, “you’re just…..really good at that.”_

_“Oh, really?” he asked, as a smug smile began to appear on his face._

_“Mmhmm,” she moaned, biting her lip._

_“Well, that’s good. Should I keep going?” he asked, teasing her as he used his thumb to draw tight circles around her sensitive clit._

_Charlie nodded silently, her mouth opening but making no sound as he slid a single digit through her wetness and into her entrance. Bass pushed his way inside while running his other hand over her perky breasts, gently squeezing and massaging them. Charlie all the sudden couldn't wait any longer. She tugged on Bass’ hair until he looked up at her._

_“I need you. NOW,” she said in an urgent tone. Bass gave her a wicked grin before wrapping a strong, muscular arm around her waist and picking her up. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips as Bass carried her towards her bedroom._

_He lowered her onto the bed gently before following her down and covering her with his body. Bass settled himself between her legs. They looked into each other’s eyes as he slowly pushed into her. Once he was fully seated inside her, he stopped, giving her time to adjust to his impressive size._

_Charlie lifted her hips up, silently urging him to move. He didn't need much encouraging. Bass fucked her with a deep, steady rhythm that quickly built up to what felt like would be a mind-blowing orgasm. She dragged her nails down his back while trying to hold off the building pressure. Bass was hammering into her with wild and passionate abandon and Charlie’s crumbling self-control was finally ripped away. Her body wracked with spasms and twitches tore through her as her insides gripped the thick cock insider her like a vice. Bass panted, sweat dripping off of his gleaming body as he slowed, not stopping, giving Charlie some time to recover before roughly flipping her over and entering her from behind._

_Charlie moaned as he fucked her deeper and harder than before. He filled her completely as his pelvis slapped against her tanned, toned bottom again and again. His frenzied thrusts intensified and his hands clenched into the bed sheets. Charlie could see the veins in his muscled forearms standing out clearly with his white knuckled grip._

_“Oh, shit! Bass!" she screamed as she felt her third orgasm building. Finally, long moments later, she toppled over the edge again. "Fuck! Charlie!" Bass cried out as he felt her squeezing him. He pulled out and came with a cry on her thighs. He flopped down on his back beside her and threw an arm over his face while he tried to slow his breathing._

_“Holy shit,” he whispered._

_“Yeah,” Charlie sighed as she rolled onto her side, turning her head to look at him. Bass returned her look with a stunning smile. He sat up, grabbed his shirt off the floor and wiped his seed from her thighs before laying back down beside her. Charlie was exhausted and it seemed Bass was too because he grabbed her and pulled her back against his chest before pulling the blanket over them._

_He nuzzled her neck and let out a sigh. "Goodnight, Charlotte," he murmured._

_"G'night Bass" Charlie breathed, settling into the bed and letting Bass' even breathing lull her to sleep._

Charlie snapped out of the memory as she reached the fence line. She glanced back at the town one last time, no longer bothering to fight back her tears, before slipping through the gate and sliding the piece back into place from the outside.

"I'm doing the right thing. I deserve to be happy," she whispered to herself. Letting out another sigh, Charlie lifted her chin and headed in the direction of Austin.


	2. Chapter 2- This Road We're Traveling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter guys! Started a new job this week and my schedule got kinda crazy. I know this is a little short, but it's more of a transition chapter. I'm still not exactly happy with the flow of it, but I'm kind of tired of messing with it and didn't want to over edit. Hope y'all enjoy!! <3

*Bass’ apartment; Willoughby, Texas*

Bass woke up with a groan, the afternoon sun shining in his face where he laid on the couch. He was in the same position he’d passed out in last night. He tried not to move his head too much as he sat up, already feeling the hangover headache that was sure to last him until he drank himself to sleep again later that night.

It was Tuesday morning, which meant it had been four days since he’d seen Charlie.

Bass let out a sigh. They’d had another fight, and this one had been the worst so far. It didn't happen often, but when it did, the fights were always huge, and always over the same thing. Miles. Charlie wanted to tell her uncle about them but Bass was, as always, reluctant and refused. He closed his eyes and thought back to the first time they’d argued, almost a year ago now.

_Bass and Charlie were curled up under the blankets together after another round of the most incredible sex he’d ever experienced. He turned onto his side to look at her after hearing her let out a long, drawn out sigh._

_“What’s wrong, babe?” he asked with a raised brow._

_“I want to run something by you,” she confessed, “but you have to promise to hear me out.”_

_“Ooookay.....” Bass dragged out, “what is it?”_

_Charlie puffed out a breath and rushed out, “IthinkweshouldtellMilesaboutus!”_

_Bass sucked in a sharp breath. “What??”_

_“I said, I think we should tell Miles about us. I know it might be a stupid idea, but...”_

_“Charlie...” Bass warned, cutting her off._

_“BUT,” she said in a louder tone, “we've been doing this for over eight months. I know it didn't really start out as anything, but along the way, it started to mean something. At least, it did to me.” Charlie finished in a whisper._

_Bass let out a groan. “You know why I don’t want to tell him. I thought you understood that,” he finished almost desperately. He watched, almost helplessly, as the fire that had been in her eyes was replaced with a shuttered look._

_“Babe,” he started, reaching for her, before she waved her hand in the air, “No, you’re right. It was a stupid thought. Sorry I brought it up,” she acknowledged before rolling away from him._

_“Charlie...”_

_“I’m tired, Bass, we should get some sleep.”_

_Bass closed his eyes in defeat. “Alright, goodnight baby,” he whispered before laying down and reaching for her once again. He tried not to react when he felt her tense up at his touch. He just hoped that whatever the result of tonight’s disagreement wouldn't permanently damage what they had found with each other._

Shaking his head to clear the memory from his mind, Bass ran his hand down his face with a sigh and stood up. Grabbing his empty glass, he headed towards the kitchen and his whiskey. Bass had just uncapped the bottle when someone started pounding on his door.

“BASS!! Bass, open this God damn door!!” Miles’ voice carried through his apartment.

He squeezed his eyes shut with a muttered “Shit.”

“Calm down, I’m coming!” he shouted back at his brother.

Before Bass could completely open the door, Miles was shoving his way through it, waving a couple of envelopes in his face.

“What the FUCK did you do, Bass?!?” Miles screamed.

“Brother, you’re gonna have to me something, cause I've got to tell you, I've got no idea what you’re talking about,” Bass confessed.

He watched Miles’ face crumple before he covered his face with his hands. Then he heard Miles’ muffled voice say, “She’s gone, man.”

“What? Who’s gone?” Bass asked in confusion.

Miles shoved an envelope into Bass’ chest. “Charlie, Bass, Charlie’s gone. And I don’t think she’s coming back this time,” Miles said before turning around and walking out the door.

Bass stood frozen in his entryway, clutching the envelope to his chest, before braving a look down at it. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Charlie’s chicken scratch handwriting on the front of the sealed parcel. Tears filled his eyes when he saw what she had written. This was the reason that Miles had thought her leaving was Bass’ fault, and he was right. Charlie had written the one name that she hadn't called him since more than a year before the war ended. The name “MONROE” was scrawled on the face of the envelope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Somewhere in Texas, about 7 hours outside of Austin*

She was being followed. It hadn't started out that way, though.

She had been walking parallel to him in the woods for a few miles before he started trailing her. When she caught a glimpse of him, she recognized him almost immediately and decided to throw him a bone.

“So, exactly how long are you planning on following me?” she called out.

The man stepped out of the trees with a wide smile on his face. “Ah, young Miss Matheson, I’d heard your skills had greatly improved since our last meeting.”

Charlie rolled her eyes and then narrowed them in a suspicious glare. “Make your point before I walk away.”

“I promise I have no ulterior motive here. I recognized you through the trees and just figured I’d see where you were going. I, myself, am heading to Austin. Although, I AM surprised to see you alone. I figured you’d settle down somewhere with your family after the war.”

A shadow passed over Charlie’s face before she hid it with a smile. She crossed arms and cocked her hip before speaking. “Now, just what is it you want with me Captain Baker?”


	3. Chapter 3- She Wrote me a Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that everything in italics is a memory/flashback. I'm sorry this chapter is so angst filled but I wanted you guys to understand Charlie's reasons for leaving and hopefully this chapter does! Leave a comment if there's something in particular you would like to see happen in this story and I'll do my best to honor your requests! And if you have time, let me know what you think! I'm hoping to have the next chapter up before the end of next week. Thank you for sticking with the story :)

*4 Days Earlier, Charlie's House*

_"Bass, we have to tell Miles,” Charlie said as she stood at her sink washing the dishes from their recently finished dinner._

_Bass jerked his head up from the town newsletter he’d been reading. “Charlotte, we've discussed this. More than once. My decision hasn't changed._ WHY _do we have to rehash it?!?” he finished with a shout._

 _She slammed down the cup she’d been drying and turned around. “What_ IS _this to you then, huh? We've been sleeping together practically every night for the past 12 months! You’re at my house every night for dinner, you have your own_ DRAWER _for God’s sake!” she screamed._

_“Charlie,” Bass started, standing up with his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. “It’s-“_

_“I get it now,” she almost whispered, “I've thought it a thousand times and hoped like hell it wasn't true, but there really isn't much use denying it anymore.”_

_”What are you talking about?” he asked, confused by her sudden change of tone. She sounded almost defeated, something he’d never heard from her before and he didn't like it. “Charlie, you KNOW I love you, more than life itself, but-“_

_She cut him off again with a sharp, humorless laugh. “Yeah, just not more than you love Miles. I get it Bass, really. Honestly, second is a place I’m used to, so, I’m not really surprised.” she confessed as she stared down at her feet, her arms wrapped around herself._

_Bass’ shoulders slumped. “Baby, that’s not what I meant. It’s more than how he’ll react towards me that I’m worried about…”_

_“But, I’m_ NOT _worried, Bass! We’d still have each other, why can’t you_ SEE _that?” she stressed. “I’m willing to take the risk. I ne-“_

_“I’m not,” Bass stated emphatically._

_Charlie sucked in a sharp breath. “Well, at least now you’re being honest.”_

_Bass was still agitated. They were having a pretty great night. She had to have known that bringing up telling Miles would start an argument. “I swear, sometimes I think you just_ want _us to fight. Why can’t you just accept that I will_ NEVER _want to tell Miles that I've been lying to him for over a year!” He tried to overlook the hurt and cloud of tears that entered her eyes at his proclamation. “I swear to you that this is the absolute_ last _time I am having this argument with you. I can’t take it anymore. It’s done.”_

_“I’m sorry,” she whimpered._

_Bass let out a sigh of exasperation and ran a hand over his face. “It’s alright, Charlie. We’ll get through it, we always do.” He went to reach for her but she stepped out of reach._

_“That’s_ not _why I’m sorry Sebastian.” she stated, her voice now stronger. He furrowed his brow in confusion as she continued, “I’m sorry I mistook all our laughs, long nights, jokes and sweet words as you_ actually _caring. It won’t happen again.”_

_Bass let out a menacing growl. “You’re impossible, you know that? I’m going for a walk and I think I’m gonna stay at my place for a few days. Come find me when you’re being rational again!” he sneered, turning towards the front door only to be stopped by her words._

_“If you leave me right now, especially after what’s been said, it will be the last time we’re together. Don’t ever bother coming back. I won’t give you the time of day. That's a promise.”_

_He turned his now stormy gaze to hers, his fists clenched tightly at his side. “What?” he rasped with barely concealed anger._

_“You heard me. And I_ never _break a promise.”_

_She watched his eyes bounce around her face, searching for something. After what felt like a lifetime, Bass shook his head and walked out the door, attempting to ignore the choked sob that escaped Charlie’s throat._

_Later that night, after she was all cried out, Charlie sat at her table, a pen and piece of paper in front of her, drinking from a bottle of whiskey. Letting out a sigh, she began to write._

_“Dear Sebastian......"_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bass sat down at his kitchen table with a fresh glass of whiskey. He stared down at the letter Charlie had left him

His hands shook as he reached to tear open the wax seal on the envelope. As he unfolded the paper, Bass let out an unsteady breath and began to read.

 

 

>             “Dear Sebastian,
> 
> I can honestly say that I would rather be doing pretty much anything else right now besides writing you this letter, but I feel like this is the only way to get out everything I need to say.  
>  There is no longer a place for me here. Miles and my grandpa have my mother, Aaron has Priscilla, and you have Miles. I've come second to almost everyone my _entire_ life and I refuse to sit back and take that from you took, so, I've decided to leave Willoughby.  
>  I don’t want you to think that this is me running from my problems, it’s far from that actually. I've just decided that it’s finally time to put myself first. Where I’m going isn't important, just know that I need a fresh start. One that obviously isn't possible for me here and I've accepted that. I wanted you to know that, even though I meant what I said the other night, I do truly love you. And even though you and I were probably never meant to be together, I have love EVERY SINGLE SECOND that I spent with you. But you _know_ why I have to leave. I can’t take the secrets and lies anymore. I’m tired of feeling like I’m not good enough or worth the risk for you. I’m sorry I ever made you feel like you had to choose. I never really considered that there was much of a choice. Maybe it was only an easy choice for me. I would have risked _everything_ for you, but I can understand how it’s different for you. You've know Miles longer, you care about him more. That’s why I don’t blame you.  
>  I blame myself for letting all of this get so out of hand. When he started asking me questions, I was so eaten up with guilt, it made me physically ill. But the hardest part was finally accepting that you couldn't be the person I always hoped you would be. You see, I wanted you to be the person I was able to tell all of my secrets to, but you made yourself one of them instead. Honestly, Bass, I hope you’re able to find happiness that you can share with the world. I truly believe you deserve it. I understand now that that can't happen with me. I just have one thing to ask.  
>  I want you to promise me something… Promise me that you won’t forget our laughs, our jokes, our smiles, our millions of conversations about nothing, our plans, our tears, our experiences, our memories…our friendship. Because, I promise you that I’ll carry them with me forever. Goodbye Bass. Love always,
> 
>                             Your Charlotte.”

 

Bass’ head dropped to the table as tears clouded his vision, a sickening pit forming in his stomach. Jesus, he’d fallen hard for a girl with abandonment issues and he’d already proven to her (more than once) that he was no different than anyone who’d left her in the past. And what’s worse is he’d pushed her so far that she’d promised that she’d never give him the time of day again.

Bass had no idea how long he sat at the table, but when he got up there was one thing he knew with absolute certainty. There was no universe in existence where he accepted Charlie’s decision to leave him. _SHE_ was his happiness. If she needed him to tell Miles, he would. Hell, if she needed him to shout it to the world, he’d find a way. She was worth that and so, so much more. He just wished it hadn't taken him so long to sort it out.

Now, he was going to have to start from scratch. He had no idea where she was heading, but he did know a possible way to find out. With a renewed sense of purpose, Bass grabbed his jacket off the couch and strode out the door.


End file.
